Subsidised rice export criticised

The international aid agency, Oxfam, is calling for the United States to stop subsidising exports of American rice to Haiti because it undermines local food production.



An Oxfam report says that 30 years ago Haiti was self-sufficient in rice production, but now imports 80 per cent of its rice.



Oxfam says the US spends more on subsidising its own rice farmers than it does on aid to Haiti.



And it quotes the former president Bill Clinton as saying policies he had helped shape had been a mistake, as they reduce the capacity of Haitians to feed themselves.



Oxfam country director in Haiti, Rolan Van Hanwermeiren, says the US should end the dumping of subsidised American rice in Haiti.